Two-thirds of mail-in ballots rejected in California in June were rejected because they arrived late or were postmarked after Election Day.
Posted by What A Day, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
What A DayOct 22, 2026
The claim matches the record: of the 148,241 mail ballots rejected in California's June 2026 primary, 93,479 (about 63%) were rejected for late arrival or postmarks after Election Day, which the Attorney General's office describes as 'nearly two-thirds.' The claim's wording and the post's wording align, and the post's referents resolve correctly.
The guest relays this claim without endorsing it. It counts as passed on, not against the post.
What was said
… So, a couple of weeks ago, on October 13, you held a press conference offering voter advice, and something that struck me was how much of it was about how two-thirds of the mail-in ballots sent in that were rejected in back in June were rejected because they arrived late or they were postmarked after Election Day. For people who are listening, who are California voters who have not yet mailed in their ballots and I count myself among them; I've got a whole voting plan. …
What A Day · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The California Attorney General's October 13, 2026 press release states that in the June 2026 primary 148,241 mail ballots were rejected statewide and that nearly two-thirds were rejected for being postmarked after Election Day or received after the seven-day deadline.[3]
Supports. AP's compiled state data reports that the primary driver of the 148,241 rejections was late-arriving ballots postmarked after Election Day, and USA Today and Democracy Docket cite 93,479 late rejections, about 63% of the total.[1][4][5][6]
Context. The 63% figure is slightly under two-thirds (about 66.7%), but it is within rounding of the 'nearly two-thirds' framing used by the state, so the claim's central assertion holds.[3][6]
Context. The Snopes fact-check concerns unrelated claims about signature rejections in the Los Angeles mayoral primary and does not bear on the lateness rejection figure.[2]
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 3 not rated
- 1Nearly 150000 mail ballots rejected in California's primary ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2'Tens of thousands' of mail-in ballots for Spencer Pratt weren't rejected in LA. Here's the proofsnopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Attorney General Bonta Holds Press Conference in Los ...oag.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports, context
- 4Nearly 150,000 mail ballots rejected in California's primary despite efforts to count every voteap.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Why thousands of California June primary mail ballots were ...usatoday.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6California rejects nearly 150,000 mail ballots despite voter safeguardsdemocracydocket.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- California mail-in ballots are counted if they are cast on or before Election Day and arrive within seven days after Election Day.True
- Approximately 150,000 to 170,000 votes were not counted in the last California election because they arrived more than seven days after Election Day.False
- California's mail-in ballot system sends millions of ballots to people who have moved out of state or to multiple addresses.False
- California sends 20 million ballots out in the mail for each election.True
- The U.S. Postal Service has been slow in delivering mail-in ballots.Mixed